William Jeffrey "Jeff" Komlo (July 30, 1956 – March 14, 2009) was an American professional
football quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played for the
Detroit Lions, the
Atlanta Falcons and the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
of the
NFL. He was born in
Cheverly, Maryland
Cheverly is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located very close to Washington, D.C., though not bordering it directly. The town was founded in 1918 and incorporated in 1931. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,17 ...
.
Football career
Coming out of DeMatha High School in
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Before Europeans reached the area, the upper ...
, Komlo wasn't heavily recruited. He'd been a star for both the football and baseball team (playing shortstop and serving as the team's clean up hitter). However, he aspired to be like his father William, who played college football for Maryland in the 1950s. He first attended Fork Hill Military Academy to sharpen his skills, and then transferred to Delaware, where Komlo was told by
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Tubby Raymond
Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond (November 14, 1926 – December 8, 2017) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Delaware from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300–119–3 ...
he could try and make the team as a walk-on, which he did.
Komlo led the
Blue Hens to a 10-4 record and a berth in the 1978
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
championship game, which they lost, 10-9, to
Eastern Illinois University. During his Delaware career, Komlo set eleven school records and passed for 5,256 yards.
Komlo was selected by the Detroit Lions in the ninth round (231st overall) of the
1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astori ...
, and was expected to be club's third-string quarterback. However, after a season-ending injury to
starting quarterback
Gary Danielson
Gary Dennis Danielson (born September 10, 1951) is an American college football commentator and former professional American football player. Danielson was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Detroit Lions from ...
in a pre-season contest, head coach
Monte Clark
Monte Dale Clark (January 24, 1937 – September 16, 2009) was an American football player who served as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. He played college football at USC.
Early years
Clark attended Kingsburg High S ...
tabbed Danielson's backup, veteran
Joe Reed, to start the season opener in Tampa. Things promptly got worse for the Lions: not only were they thrashed, 31-16, but Reed went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter, forcing Komlo into the game. With no better options, Detroit decided to start Komlo in the club's second game against Washington: a rare instance of such a low-drafted rookie QB being handed an NFL starting job. In his only full season as a pro signal-caller, Komlo started fourteen games and went 183-for-368 for 2,238 yards, 11 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Favoured by many to win the
NFC Central
The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...
, the 1979 season quickly turned into a disaster for Detroit, as Komlo went 2-12 as a starting quarterback; his two victories (a 24-23 win over the
Atlanta Falcons and a 20-0 win over the
Chicago Bears) were the Lions' only wins all season, as they set a club record with 14 losses.
In 1980, Komlo threw only four passes all year, as Danielson returned; in 1981, Komlo was mainly the third-string quarterback, with Danielson being supplanted as starter by
Eric Hipple
Eric Ellsworth Hipple (born September 16, 1957) is a public speaker and a former professional American football player.
Early life and education
Eric Hipple was born in Lubbock, Texas.
Hipple attended Utah State University with an athletic schol ...
. He did start two games that season, including a 27-21 loss to the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
that marked his final appearance in a Detroit uniform.
In 1982, Komlo went to the
Atlanta Falcons but did not get into a game. In 1983, his final NFL season, Komlo played for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, but threw just eight passes in two games, stuck behind
Jack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson and ex-New York Giant
Jerry Golsteyn
Jerry Mark Golsteyn (born August 6, 1954) is a former American football player. Golsteyn played college football as quarterback at Northern Illinois University and was selected in the 12th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He pl ...
.
Later life and death
In May 2004, Komlo was involved in a domestic incident with his girlfriend, Jennifer Winters. After they got into an argument, Komlo shoved her out of the car, which, in a drunken state, he later crashed. He returned home, got his SUV, and later crashed that vehicle as well. He was later convicted in
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...
on two drunk-driving charges, but didn't show up to be sentenced, which resulted in a bench warrant for his arrest.
[ In August 2005, Komlo was still on the lam, and featured on '' America's Most Wanted''. He was also facing charges of ]cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
possession and assault, and police wanted to question him about possible arson at his homes in West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
and Chester Springs, Pennsylvania
Chester Springs is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is centered on West Pikeland Township, and extends into Charlestown Township, Upper Uwchlan Township, Wallace Township, East Nantmeal Township, ...
.
Fleeing the country, Komlo ended up in Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, working for a hair implant clinic in Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
called NHI. The clinic caters mostly to Britons, who fly to the Greek capital for something called the Choi Method, which, according to the NHI website, is "a procedure far too labour-intensive to operate in the UK."
Komlo was killed in an automobile crash in southern Athens on March 14, 2009. Pennsylvania law enforcement initially questioned whether he might have faked his own death to avoid the charges. Five days later, the Acting Chief Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee
Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, th ...
sheriff's detective, Jim Vito, stated that the authorities were satisfied that Komlo was in fact dead.[
]
References
* "The Wrong Turn" by L. Jon Wertheim, ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'' (June 15, 2009)
External links
Stats at DatabaseFootball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komlo, Jeff
1956 births
2009 deaths
American expatriates in Greece
American football quarterbacks
Atlanta Falcons players
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players
Detroit Lions players
People from Cheverly, Maryland
Players of American football from Maryland
Road incident deaths in Greece
Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players